>> right now, the supreme court is stepping in on obama care. the justices have agreed to hear arguments over a controversial part of the law. dealing with religion and contraception. right now, snow and heavy rains are cutting across the country. we've got flood warnings in the south and heavy snow battering the midwest and creeping towards the northeast. also right now, that huge storm is putting it travel plans in jeopardy for millions of americans. we've got advice how not to get sfrand stranded in an airport for the holidays. hello, i'm jim acosta in washington. wolf blitzer is off today. we start with the supreme court agreeing to hear another appeal

over the affordable care act. this one centers on contraception. the obama administration is appealing the decision in a case brought by the hobby lobby store chain. a federal appeals court said hobby lobby has the right to refuse to provide mandated coverage for birth control without a copay to its employees. hobby lobby's owners say that mandate is at odds with their religious beliefs. the supreme court will review that provision in the affordable care act. that is what is at issue here. cnn legal analyst paul callan in new york talks about this. paul, it does not sound like that the entire law sat risk here. what exactly lay out what the court is going to look at. is it possible this provision of obama care could be thrown out? >> well, it's possible. i mean, the big supplies here is the supreme court, you know, already heard this monster case about the affordable care act, upheld its constitutionality and

here we are a year later, they're taking another case. this is an important provision of the law because it says basically that you have to provide certain kinds of coverage such as contraception and now along comes this corporation. they're basically saying hey, we're a person under the constitution. and they're really claiming that a corporation has the right to have religious beliefs which hasn't been decided by the court previously. >> right. and that's the crux of the issue here, hobby lobby is closed on sundays for their religious beliefs. so is chick-fil-a. there are other companies that do i guess express their religious beliefs in their business practices. i guess what is legally wrong with hobby lobby saying we object to this part of the law. we're not going to abide by this provision of the law. why can't they just do that? >> i think the weakness, of course, in their argument is we generally don't let corporations cherry pick certain provisions of laws.

and say a well, we're not going to abide by that because our religious beliefs prohibit this. we just haven't recognized that previously in this country. however, there is hobby lobby says a precedent, citizen united of course, that famous case involving funding of political campaigns by corporations. the supreme court there said a corporation is a person and has a right to political views. if they can have political views, why not religious views says hobby lobby. and the tenth circuit which is a big federal district out west, colorado, oklahoma, kansas, wyoming, if agreed with hobby lobby forcing the supreme court to look at this issue to see if there's any legitimacy to the argument. >> thank you very much. another threat to obama care. our political director cnn's mark tresston. here it is, another headache for the obama administration. over obama care. it sounds like from what paul is saying the entire law is not at

risk. that was the big issue we were dealing with last summer, as you know. but no question, you know, with all of the other issues with obama care right now, it's one more thing. this is not something they want to see right now. >> but it's one of these political issues that could become beneficial perhaps to democrats heading into the midterm lackses. we've already seen the white house comments on it. take a like look what the white house just released. they don't often talking about supreme court cases but here they are right now. the obama administration asked the supreme court to consider a legal chag to the health care's requirement that for profit corporations include birth control coverage and insurance available to employees. the white house is saying it's essential to the law and essential to women's health. this becomes a very big issue heading into the midterm elections because democrats will talk about reproductive rights. you're going to see a certain segment of the republican party talk about maintaining values.

>> remember last year during the presidential race, during congressional elections this was a major mine field for the republicans on this issue. we saw a variety of republican candidates go down in flames beak because they tangled with this issue of contraception and the democrats found themselves on top. the poll numbers that have come out this morning, new cnn/orc poll numbers, which showed after the shoutdown they preferred to have democrats in charge. the cnn/orc shows republicans now have a 49 to 47 edge over democrats in a generic 20 14g match-up. a month ago, look at the change, democrats held a 50-42 advantage over the republicans who took heat for the debt ceiling and the government shutdown. mark, what does this mean? i mean obviously this is the obama care effect on the democratic party. >> and it is. it's interesting just a month ago, democrats were very gleeful

talking to you and me, they said we're so happy. the republicans have dug themselves a big hole. it appears like democrats have reaches down into the hole and have pulled the republicans out of it with the idea that the health care rollout has been a disaster. the website doesn't work. we will have kathleen sebelius the head of hhs on the phone as we speak talking to reporters trying to it out it. democrats are nervous in congress right now. let's not forget, heading to the midterm elections specifically in the senate, there are several senators that are in danger of losing their seats if democrats lose five or six seats, they lose control. >> i've talked to administration officials who believe once they get the website fixed that not all of their problems will be solved but things are going to get much bet per. when people start to see the law is working and the website is working, be yes there were folks who lost coverage and that was not good for the president but feel some of this could disablize. >> i think that's true. the one problem right now you

have to take into account for the democrats is that the narrative is being drawn right now. even if it does stabilize, there's still going to be an after effect and still the obama administration trying to get democrats to be support of it, even though democrats are there, a real problem is the independent voters right there, the ones in the middle that will decide the election. they don't want a bad taste in their mouth. the administration is working hard to make this work. >> before the democrats were talking about maybe we can take the house in 2014. now it's the democrats saying let's hope we can hold onto the senate. tens of millions of people will hit it the road for the thanksgiving holiday but rain, sleet and snow is also on the menu. how you might want to rethink your plans. coming up next. stick with innovation. stick with power. stick with technology.

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get 50% off new brake pads and shoes. this year might be the year for people to start rethinking those thanksgiving traditions. stay at home, maybe consider not going to grandma's house although that won't be the case in my household. unless you like to battle airport delays, cancellations, icy roads, car wrecks. that is what many of you have been dealing with already. more is on the way, especially in the northeast. we've seen snow across the midwest and into the mid-atlantic. while the south has also seen some snow, rain and ice. for everyone, traveling has been treacherous. we've already seen ta today. >> i got on the highway. next thing i know i'm spinning >> there's a point where there's nothing you can do. it's ice and you're just a passenger in your own car. >> what do you have to say to mother nature right now? >> i don't know.

i can't -- i don't want to say that on tv. >> now, that's just part of the storm story. we have alina machado watching rains in atlanta. shannon travis is outside of pittsburgh and chad meyers is in the cnn severe weather center. chad, let's start with you. what are the dangerous areas right now that people should be aware of? >> it's pennsylvania and upstate new york right now. but there's an awful lot of rain still coming down notice shenandoah valley and parts west of d.c. it's 33. when the sunsets, it's not going to be 33. it's going to be 32, 31. and that's going to freeze. so yes, we're still seeing is the snow up here across pennsylvania. i mean altoona, dubois, all these areas that's all snow coming down. what you're seeing with shannon is some of the melting on the roadways but that will stop when the sunsets. that's pittsburgh. and everything else all down here that's all rain. you think it's just rain. that's no big deal. well, this is a map of atlanta

in the rain. here's the center of atlanta right there. that's what we call the perimeter. here's one major artery. i-85, shut down right there because of two tractor-trailers that collided just northeast of atlanta georgia. probably shut down in the southbound direction until 38 p.m. look the an your clock. that's a ways away. here comes the rain. charleston back -- even rain can make a big problem. here's the snow back into pittsburgh, still snowing there. that will continue for a lot of the day. i don't think we're going to get a lot of changeover into upstate new york. this is where the bulk of the snow will be. for a while, the rain will come into our forecast for new york city. even into philadelphia. i think that stays rain. i-95 stays rain but everything west of there, west of probably 84, 81, especially through you, pittsburgh, buffalo, rochester, syracuse, that's all snow all the time. >> that looks like a big mess. all right, chad, thank you very much. as chad said, pittsburgh and

surrounding areas are already experiencing some flurries. and when all of this stops melting later tonight, it could ice up and get worse. shannon travis has been braving the roads in irwin, pennsylvania, 22 miles southeast of pittsburgh. shannon, how is it looking out there? you don't look too happy right now. >> well, not so happy. if you're one of those folks who think thanksgiving isn't quite the thanksgiving without a little snow, consider this mother nature's gift. we're in irwin, pennsylvania, about 20 miles outside of pittsburgh. interstate 76 goes right into the pittsburgh. as we were driving in, there was nothing but just -- but when we got here, this was this is snow coming down. it isn't coming down so heavy right now but coming down steady. i'm going to use a very unofficial ruler, my finger, but it's getting pretty deep as you can see on here. i a few minutes ago, only half

my finger stuck down in there and now it's almost the whole thing. we estimate unofficially about 3 inches or so. this is in west moreland county, pittsburgh is in allegheny county. obviously they are getting hit under a winter storm warning right now. potentially forecast 5 to 9 inches, possibly there. i spoke with the pennsylvania department of trapsportation. they tell me that in the county, they're going to deploy about 80 trucks, 135 crews. they'll be working in 12-hour shifts. back to back and in neighboring ohio, get this, jinl, i spoke to officials there that told me that they dropped over 21,000 tons of salt across the state for the season so far. so get ready for thanksgiving and a very white christmas probably also. >> okay. and our chad meyers might take exception to your scientific methods out there, shannon, but in terms of your measuring the snowfall, but we appreciate it very much. thanks for that live look in the

very important pittsburgh area, a lot of people traveling through that area this time of year. one of the areas also feeling the weather right now and what's happening is the atlanta area as chad mentioned, alina machado standing outside in the cold and rain on interstate 75 and 85. it's bob freezing rights now. could that change? what does that mean for the folks in that area? there's a lot of people moving through those highways over the next 24 hours. >> reporter: jim, a bit of good news. it appears that the temperature will stay above freezing. so all this water that we've gotten so far today will not be freezing anytime soon. take a look at the scene behind me. this is a major thoroughfare here. you can see traffic is starting to build. this is what we'll be seeing throughout the south. people seem to be slowing down, taking it easy. that's what you need to be doing in these weather conditions. here in atlanta, we're getting rain. heading a little bit north, you'll get sleet and rain and

possibly some ice and snow. so it all depends where you're going to be. but wherever you are, you can be expect to have plenty of company. the aaa says there's going fob more than 43 million people expected to travel for the thanksgiving holiday. about 90% of those people will be getting in cars and driving somewhere. the bottom line is, take it easy on the roads. make sure you know what the forecast is like where you're going. and if you're heading out today and maybe see that you're going to be running into some trouble with the storm, you might want to consider leaving tomorrow, depending where you are. throughout the country. >> all right. very good advice. thank you very much. to all of our folks watching the weather, chad meyers, shannon travis and alina is, please stay safe and have a happy thanksgiving. still ahead, if you're worried about getting stranded because of the storm this week, don't panic. we'll get great advice how to avoid the worst case scenario. [ paper rustles, outdoor sounds ]

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the storm bearing down on the east coast has the potential to delay or strand millions of air travelers in the next couple days. if your travel planses are in jeopardy, there is something you can do about it. rick seeny is the ceo of fair.com. you avoid travel trouble for a live package. what is your advice if someone is worried about their flight? is there anything that can be done about it? >> it's sort of hard right now to change your reservation ahead of knowing what's going to happen. there's two keys to a really

good experience. there's one in five of us delayed tomorrow, which is wednesday. and probably a little bit fewer thursday and friday. that means you have to get good quality information, sign up for flight status alerts. monitor the queues at the airport. there's tons of great tools for your smartphone. the key is getting good quality information. many times even before gate agents get it. if you have tens of thousands of folks all trying to change plans you want to be in the first group. then if you're at the airport, the thing is, if you have a party of three or four, send somebody outside security, see if you can find a scarce human at the airport to help you rebook. get on the phone and at the same time, get on the laptop and try to modify. it's going to be a huge rush of people to make those changes and you need to be first in na line. >> and i always bring plenty of reading material. invariably, you're going to get stuck in one of these situations. you might want to have something to read on the tablet, as well to get through it. >> sure.

>> are airlines at this point likely to waive change fees for something like this? >> sure. >> what do you know about that? >> yeah, no, the airlines are prewaiving all the change fees. many airlines have gotten really good with their own meteorologists in house to precancel flights. we're already seeing is flights for tomorrow being canceled. that's good news for consumers. you want to modify your plans ahead of time. they're trying to spread out the amount of changes occurring in their call circles. it's very difficult to make changes on a smartphone. you still need to talk to a human. unless you have a laptop, some airlines let you change your reservations on a laptop. >> what is the situation like these days? are airports seeing more cancellations now than they have before? i feel like we talk about this every year. are the airlines and airports getting better at this? >> absolutely. the airlines do not want the news to be full of cots in

airport stories. that's why they're precanceling flights, sending out status alerts and delays. i'm heading out tomorrow morning. i've got a alert that my flight is delayed for tomorrow. >> those are helpful. >> so i mean the bottom line is airlines have done a much better job the last year. they're forgiving revenue for a better experience on the consumer. overall, it's bet are for consumers. we have to thank the department of transportationing with three-hour tarmac rules and 24-hour guarantees and waiving of fees. >> i'm all for no more cots in the airport terminals. rick, thank you very much for your time. your expertise is greatly appreciated especially this time of year. for the latest on the weather and a unique. look at the world's busiest airport, check out cnn.com/interactive. check that out. obama care has been a source of anger and frustration for a lot of people.

for those able to get coverage, it has been a relief. we'll bring you stories of two very different obama care customers and that is coming up when we return. [ coughs, sneezes ] i have a big meeting when we land, but i am so stuffed up, i can't rest. [ male announcer ] nyquil cold and flu liquid gels don't unstuff your nose. they don't? alka seltzer plus night fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a decongestant. [ inhales deeply ] oh. what a relief it is. [ inhales deeply ] maestro of project management. baron of the build-out. you need a permit... to be this awesome. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. (aaron) purrrfect. (vo) meee-ow, business pro. meee-ow. go national. go like a pro.

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security deal with the united states is in jeopardy. >> gan president hamid karzai met with u.s. national security advisor susan rice on monday. despite the approval of the majority of after gans elders he said he won't sign the agreement sill tern conditions are met. he wants a promise from the u.s. there will be no more raids on afghan homes and prinners will be released from gom bay. with the support of the white house, susan rice said that was not viable. >> if the agreement isn't signed properly, what i said to the president is we would have no choice. we would be compelled by necessity, not by our preference, to have to begin to plan for the prospect that we will not be able to keep our troops here because they will not be invited because the bsa will not have been signed. then the nature of our partnership and the investments we have made will be more difficult to sustain. >> so essentially, an ultimatum

from susan rice. a total withdrawal, by the way, would put afghanistan at risk of losing billions of dollars in international aid. mean highway, the latest effort to resuscitate obama care is taking place this hour. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius just finished a conference call with state and local officials. she said on that call and this is just being reported now, she said that the site is the definitely on track. definitely on track. her words, to have a significantly different user experience by the end of this month adding this is not a magic turn on and off switch to fix healthcare.gov but the experience is being vastly improved each day. those are the words of her on that call. another white house obama administration official saying that that website will be ready for the vast majority of users on november 30th. meanwhile, the obama administration says health care reform is saving is seniors money on prescription drugs by filling in the so-called doughnut hole according to the

centers for medicare and medicaid services. seniors and people with disabilities have saved $9 billion on prescriptions since 2010. the president touted progress toward getting the website running smooth by ahead of the deadline. he spoke yesterday in california where he said obama care is working better but still needs some fixes. here's what he had to say. >> so even as we're getting this darned website up to speed, it's getting better, states like california are proving the law, would. >> a lot of people are frustrated and angry over the way obama care is being implemented. but others, there is some relief for those who are finally getting insurance. we're covering both sides. two reports starting with casey wian. >> i thought it was a great idea. >> tom harris is a 62-year-old self-employed handiy man who had high hopes for obama care. >> my expectations were that it

would actually enhance my existing health care plan. >> how has it worked out for you so far? >> that wasn't the case. i was notified my plan would be ended at the end of this year in december. i was very surprised. >> harris suffers from debilitating allergies. he's seeing a specialist at the zee dares sigh nine medical center in los angeles at least till january 1st when his bill would go up. >> it's completely out of network and doesn't apply against my deductible. it's almost in another orbit. >> the new obama care compliant plan being offered by his currents health insurance company will actually cost him $5 a month less, but four of harris's five doctors are no longer in that network. >> i've had patients come to me saying, please do whatever you need to do because i don't know if i'll be able to come back to see you after december 31st. >> he says 10% of his patients now must either find new doctors

or pay steep out of pocket costs. >> it's mind numbing. >> even for dr. eichess. less than six weeks before obama care takes effect, he still doesn't know which if any insurance plans he will accept. he has already stopped taking medicare. >> i play think about not taking insurance at all. i have a lot of appreciates seeing me for over 20 years. we have a bond. >> for harris, obama care has meant fewer choices and headaches. >> i certainly wish him well, but the situation that i find myself in, the dynamic i find myself in is a real struggle. >> casey wian, cnn, los angeles. >> there are success stories was obama care, in some cases it's doing what it was designed to do, get people insured. miguel marquez has that part of the story. >> today kate and justin leaper

aren't insured. come january 1st, that will change. >> i recently changed jobs so i took a contract position where i don't have benefits. >> keeping up that previous insurance would cost 1500 bucks a month. too much. she tried five insurers, but the application process onerous. >> you would have to fill out paperwork. >> not just paperwork but trying to remember every doctor visit you had for the last year and every procedure or major issue you've had for the last ten years. >> abanother problem for the 35-year-olds who were healthy, her mus justin. >> you are a vegetarian. >> no meat, no dairy. never had coffee. don't drink soda, no alcohol. no drugs. work out four times a week. >> he's a bit of a medical mystery, suffering a condition doctors so far can't diagnose. >> that it was usually enough for them to say no, we can't

cover you. >> so they logged on to covered california. >> welcome to covered california. >> 10,000 californians now signing up daily. >> i didn't have to know a whole lot. i just put in some basic information, our social security numbers and birth dates. >> the website working as advertised presented them 308 insurance options. >> what's it going to cost you? >> about $500 a month less than that. >> for both of you. >> the actual quote $467. >> what does it feel like to know you are covered? >> it's a relief. >> now, waiting for their first bill, they say the real test for obama care is when they'll need to use it. miguel marquez, cnn, los angelesing >> thanksgiving travel plans on hold. a major storm tearing across the country leaving rain, snow and misery. we'll check the forecast and the travel warnings next. [ susan ] ...as though he had never left.

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this week is normally packed tight with thanksgiving travelers, but the weather is tearing down some of those travel plans. snow, rain and high winds have snarled traffic on the highways and left thousands without a plane to catch. things will be getting better for thanksgiving for many of you, but millions more it's going to get worse. chad meyers is in the cnn severe weather center. where is the storm headed and potentially how many people could be ached? sounds like a lot. >> at least. we're only talking about the 43 million number that will travel 50 miles or more. that means another 100 million will travel 25 miles or so. right. >> that's that number we focus on, 43 million will be traveling long distances. here's what we've got.

we have a tornado watch in florida with the system as this is cold air wraps in here. and making tornadoes on the ground at least i know of one so far today. heavy rain across the southeast and mid-atlantic. and snow north of there. so that's how it happens today. this low is still developing. the low is somewhere right about there. and so what's going to happen for the next couple days, we'll bring under the warm moist air here. it's going to be a rain fint for i-95, all rain. so if you're in new york, you go, hey, this storm's a bust, it didn't snow. we don't expect it to snow. the snow is north into parts of ohio. i can move one more map farther up there. that's where it's snowing. talking about i-80, the pennsylvania turnpike, the new york through way, all having snow on it right now. the problem will be when it starts to get to sunset. nothing's going to be -- going to be melting anymore. it's going to be sliding. we'll get snow sticking to the ground and hopefully there will already be a burvelg of salt

there when you get there. there are the plains. there's 5,000 planes on that map. ants on candy with this map, so many planes there. but many of them, i won't say most but many can be delayed today because not going to get out of the gates on time. here's atlanta departures. all of these planes have come and departed. let me scroll down a little bit here. southwest plane to orlando, that was one canceled. delayed, delayed, delayed. i can go down this list, i will will down this plane, 50, 60 planes delay dd, delayed, delayed. it goes on from here. the best thing if you're going to an airport today or tomorrow is pack a bag you can carry on. you might not be able to get to your other bag under the plane or don't even pack that one that goes in the plane. take your stuff with you so you can get to a different plane if you get diverted. at least you have all your stuff. >> having traveled through a lot of airports, that is not the way

you want the board to look making your way through the terminal. thanks very much for the update. more than 3 million people are flying for the thanksgiving holiday. martive savidge is at the world's busiest airport. hearts fooelds jackson in atlanta. chad meyers was just showing us his ipad version of the board and how things are looking. how do things stand where you are. >> we can show you the real version of the board. it's just right over here. it has changed no doubt throughout this day. started off this morning really good. everybody was on time. no cancellations. the number of cancellations, we've only seen two and can't blame that on the weather. we are seeing an impact on the flights as far as delays. not by a lot but it's now up to on average i would say half an hour. again, not every flight. the vast majority are still on time. half delays starting to creep in. if you're headed to laguardia or

kennedy, you start to see the delays are getting longer. it's a combination of weather and congestion. today is, of course, no the really the heaviest busy travel day. only about a quart million people expected through this particular airport. tomorrow is when the volume will increase. unfortunately, as chad pointed out it's also when the weather begins to really kick in. not so bad today. not many unhappy travelers. give it time, unfortunately, jim. >> yeah, and i can see some folks behind you right there looking for their flight. and how are folks holding up as you're talking to people out here, martin? are people generally in a good mood? you know, people haven't comen glued i hope. >> they are. yeah, no, they haven't. the wheels haven't come off yet. most people seem to be in a pretty good mind-set. and they're going to having to, as we say pack extra patience. only if it doesn't take up another suitcase because otherwise you'll likely be charged for that. >> we can count on the airlines

for that. martin, thank you very much. we appreciate it. travel is not the only thing in danger from the storm bearing down on the northeast. high winds could ground some of those big balloons in the macy tajikistan day parade. it the blans are allowed to fly if wind gusts are above are not allowed to fly above 35 miles per hour. the forecast calls for winds to be around that level on parade day. new york city police commissioner ray kelly says his men will be in place to help just in case. >> we have a sergeant assigned to each of the balloons. they can be lowers all the way to the ground or a determination is made not to fly. >> organizers say they will wait till thursday morning to make their decision. shining a new light on mental health issues. two high profile stories are showing the challenges for families and communities. we'll take a closer look. ♪

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>> the now, two stories linked by a common thread. the issue of mental health. i'm talking about the newtown school shooting where a new report on adam lanza was released yesterday and the stabbing of creigh deeds by his son. deeds is talking about ta attack. what are you learning about these cases, brian todd? obviously, we know creigh deeds really just shortly after this tragedy that occurred in his family had very choice words about the virginia mental health system. but if you look at the situation in connecticut, not an exactly identical case, but once again, this very critical issue of mental health is staring us in the face. >> it is, jim. a lot of questions being asked how we treat the mentally ill and are we getting them the treatment they need. some cases it clearly shows we're not. in the lanza case, that's not as

clear penned to the report state investigators released yesterday. you see adam lanza there. there are also pictures in this report, some photos of the crime scene we're seeing for the first time, the windows shot out in the school, chilling images there. there's a picture of the bushmaster rifle he used to kill some of the children there and ammo clips and things like that. some of these pictures we're seeing for the first time. that report does say that adam lanza "had significant mental health issues," but what contribution those made to the shooting are not known. of course, woo he don't know exactly what his mother had done to get him some treatment. thief apparently did have him see professionals but the extent weigh don't know. in the creigh deeds case, very interesting because last monday, the 18th, the day before his son stabbed him, his son austin was evaluated and then released because they couldn't find any beds according to the rock

bridge area he community services board that said they couldn't find any beds. cnn later learned there were three hospitals that had psychiatric beds available. now, creigh deeds has taken that information and has told a local newspaper in southern virginia i here's a quote from him. very strong quote from creigh deeds. quote, i cry a lot. i can't focus now and talk to anyone. i have very strong opinions about the csb, and i feel like they are responsible. he's pointing a finger. again, csb is the community services board. they said there were no beds available. he said he feels like they're responsible. we've called and e-mailed that community services board, have not gotten a response yet. it is raising some questions about, you know, just how they might have connected the dots or not in this case. >> right. because one of the problems with our mental health system is it's a patchwork of systems that aren't talking to one another. we can't really say definitively

what happened in this case, but it seems as if, perhaps, the board did not check with other nearby facilities to find out if there were beds available. we need to figure out whether or not that is definitely the case. but it goes back to this issue. we've seen it mass shooting after mass shooting and this tragedy with the deeds family. this issue of mental health is not being dealt with. >> it's not being dealt with because -- and the experts will tell you that the shortage of beds is a huge problem in this country. thousands of beds have been reduced. the resources have been cut for the treatment of mentally ill. i just spoke to one expert who said, you know why, it's because these are people who don't vote, they don't have political power, and the resources for them have been cut. they're the ones who are very often committing these violent acts because they're not getting the help they need. it is a huge problem in this country. and we have to address it. >> and brian's going to have more on this in a full report later today on "the situation room." still ahead, if you have not seen it, there's a new show that takes a look at the behind the

scenes lives of a group of fictitious lawmakers. turns out, not so far removed from reality. it's based on a few real life senators and their home away from home. we'll take a tour inside of that coming up next.

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let's take a look at the markets right now. trading is getting thin as wall street empties out for the thanksgiving day holiday. there you see the dow is up about 32 points. a little extra money for the cranberry sauce on thursday. we did have some big housing news this morning. a new report says housing prices are up about 11% over last year. the pace of growth is leveling off, but this is the biggest single increase since the height of the housing bubble in 2006, 2007. so good news there for homeowners. members of congress are known to rack up the frequent flyer miles, shifting gears here to

our final story. those lawmakers are always faring back and forth between their home districts and washington. but did you ever wonder how they live when they're doing the nation's work here in the nation's capital? our dana bash was also curious. she dropped in on a few of them in their home. it's quite a sight to behold. take a look. >> paint peeling off the walls, sheets covering the windows, broken blinds, a mangled chair covered up with a wood board, an ancient stove with a giant hole. yes, that's underwear in the living room. what looks and feels like the most rundown frat house on campus is actually the capitol hill home of some of the most powerful men in washington. >> welcome to omega house. >> dick durbin and chuck schumer, the second and third ranking senate democrats live here together. >> you guys got the rent? >> their landlord and third roommate is democratic congressman george miller.

the house is so legendary, it inspired a new tv series, "alpha house." except the senate room nates in the amazon show are republicans. >> they are nothing like us. don't even begin to think so. >> when people see this house, they're going to know because in the show it's a little nicer. they have a thing where in the -- >> wait a minute. >> miller, the owner, started taking in tenants more than 30 years ago. the house hasn't been updated since. >> when we stopped buying lps, that was when the music stopped. >> but you have a record player here. >> yes, the same exact records are there now as the day i moved in, in 1982. >> the best part about it are the products that are on the cassette player. >> this is my medicine cabinet right here. >> i didn't know you were a metro sexual. >> smooth as could be. >> whose closet is this? >> it's mine. >> oh, mr. neat. mr. neat's closet. >> schumer's stuff is strewn all

over the living room. >> seriously, this is where you sleep every night? >> every night. >> and you wake up to barack obama staring at you in the face. >> exactly. >> senator durbin did out you a little bit. he said this is the most you've ever made your bed. >> just for you. >> well, thank you. and the blinds are particularly beautiful. >> a guy can see the weather without having to get out of bed. it's a special effect. >> the phone is still plugged in but hasn't worked in years. >> i still remember the number. >> you don't use a phone? what's the point? >> he's always saving money. >> their couch was a money saver too. >> my son wanted to throw that away, put it out in the trash. and it had to be 12, 14 years ago. i said, it's better than anything we have. >> their refrigerator, well, it's a scary sight. >> that baguette, it looks a little aged. >> it's a lethal weapon. >> no wonder they have a problem

with rats. >> the rats may have done that. >> how many rats did you have? >> don't ask. >> i had a dream literally two nights ago that it the rthe rat back. >> and what year is this from, congressman? >> well, ben franklin gave that to us. >> since this is not a kitchen fit for cooking, the congressional roomies take the easy route. cold cereal. they buy it in bulk. >> you're the raisin bran. >> the fictitious lawmakers in "alpha house" have breakfast together, watch sports at night. not so much here. >> i come in about midnight from my office usually. >> and we leave while he's sleeping. we do it by design. >> an opening scene of "alpha house" shows a bowl of flag pins on the counter. this is what they have on their counter. screws and a random pill. and a pen in case you need one. >> it's very -- it's modern art. >> it's hard to believe such prominent politicians live in these conditions. >> when my wife comes, she will

not stay here. >> but they're only in washington about three nights a week. >> what makes it work? >> your friends. >> we love it. it's home. >> dana bash, cnn, at the real alpha house near capitol hill. >> and i'm sure they're thrilled with that story. that's it for me. i'll be back at 5:00 eastern. "the newsroom" continues right now with brooke baldwin. >> get ready. america's travel nightmare is getting worse. this hour, airline passengers are hitting big delays and drivers hitting jam-packed roads. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. it's a real life homeland plot. the cia reportedly training gitmo prisoners to be double agents. a mayor facing intense pressure after a disturbing rant inside his own police station.